A wheelchair user's guide to a worry-free, accessible vacation

Belgium

Note: This was a part of a three country trip (see London for the first country).

How we got to Bruxelles:Booking the train from Paris to Bruxelles was a nightmare.We used Thalys. In order to book the accessible tickets (reduced) we needed to call. This number is not possible to call over the internet (i.e. Yahoo Msngr or Skype) and therefore you need to call over an actual landline (or cellphone). Also, at the time of calling, none of our credit cards would work on their machines, and they hardly spoke English. In the end, we purchased the tickets when we first got into Paris. So try to get a French speaker to phone if possible.

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Transportation: We were staying with friends, and they rented us an accessible vehicle. It was pretty tight in fitting 1 wheelchair, 3 suitcases and 5 people. But we made it work!

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Bruxelles (Mannequin Pis, La Grande Place, Waffles, Iron)

After being picked up from the station, we drove to the famous Mannequin Pis statue and walked around. Get the waffles for a euro. They are the best we had ever had! Up the street there is a square (La Grande Place) that was beautiful

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Later we drove by a giant atom of Iron. It has 9 electrons, which represent the 9 provinces of Belgium.

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Day Two (American Battle Memorial, Aquarium, Liège)

We visited the American Cemetery where soldiers from war were laid to rest. Very well done.

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We later went to an aquarium. It was pretty interesting. However, since we had already been to the London Aquarium, it was a bit boring. Upstairs, there was a great zoological exhibit.

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We then went to the City Centre of Liège and had a snack. Very pretty to walk around.

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Day Three (Chatêau, Church, Walking around)

We spent more time with friends, and therefore didn’t do too many touristy things. We did enjoy the fact that every village will have a very old castle and a church to visit. It’s incredible to see!